Barriers of the solar PV rooftop promoting in Thailand

Abstract

At present, many countries are aware of the global warming crisis which is resulted from the pollution of fossil fuels, therefore, the alternative energy especially solar energy is needed to decrease reliance on conventional energy source. In Thailand, solar photovoltaic (PV) rooftops have promoted by the government to install in the private household. After reviewing, this paper presents factors impacting implementation, expansion and execution of PV rooftops. On one hand, the strength factors that support this campaign are high solar irradiance, renewable energy policy and Feed-in-Tariff. On the other hand, the barriers of solar PV rooftop implementation are technologies, economics, socials and regulations. The limitation of domestic technology and technical expertise is one of the main barriers as well as the high initial cost of PV system installation. The conflict of official regulation and the lack of social awareness of energy crisis also lead to the gradual rate of solar rooftop installation. To resolve those obstructions, the government should fully support in financial subsidies on establishing R&D centers to develop and strengthen domestic PV technologies and also should adapt the provided financial supports such as low interest rate and FIT for people who want to install the PV rooftops. In addition, the government must encourage the public to get the right information about the PV rooftop system. Last, the official laws and regulation must be revised and updated to reduce the conflict of each others. Those solutions will be help to enhance the rate of solar PV rooftops implementation in Thailand.